The Makings of a Happily Ever After
by PhoenixxTears
Summary: Dorcas Meadowes was left in the dust nearly a year ago, thinking that the man who had promised her everything had chosen his best friend instead. Just when she's about ready to move on however, Benjy catches her by surprise...


The Makings of a Happily Ever After

The corridor was deserted, as most sane people were in bed at this time. But then again, Dorcas Meadowes didn't consider herself sane, and she had always loved staying up until the wee hours of the morning. Usually she could be found in the Room of Requirement until at least twelve midnight, if not later. This night was not any exception.

She was heading back from the room, as she had stayed up talking with Regulus Black, who was practically a brother to her. They didn't speak as often as of late, something that worried her to no end. She knew what he was into, even if he wasn't telling her what it was, and because of if she could feel them gradually growing apart. She missed her best friend though, for he had been that person that she could always count on to fight for her. Now, however, they never had a moment alone; he couldn't be seen with her, a Mudblood.

At that point, Doe's thoughts were clouded with an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Lily had James now, and though Doe and the other girl were still as close as ever, Lily now had someone _other_ than her. And then there was Benjy, otherwise known as Benjamin Fenwick. With all of the drama that had happened, even though it was so long ago, there had been no end result; nothing after that point. He had apparently chosen Mia over her, and if she were being honest with herself, Doe knew that she was slightly more than hurt about it.

She had truly fancied him, maybe even more than she had liked her first boyfriend in the beginning of their relationship. Even though she understood his reasoning that Mia was more important - she was, after all, his best mate - it still stung. Well, inside, at least. She'd taken to avoiding him in the halls after the baby project had finished up and he had obviously made his choice. He'd stopped coming up to her after that; what more of an answer did she need?

"Speak of the devil," she muttered to herself as she saw him striding up towards her. What he wanted, she wasn't sure. What else was there for them to discuss? She hadn't been put in Gryffindor for a reason though; she had never acquired the bravery that it took to be one. All that Dorcas could think about was running away; getting away from him. She didn't want to hear what he had to say. Maybe Amelia Bones had invented some other reason to hate her. Who the bloody hell knew with that girl.

She was too late in running away, because before she knew it, he was face to face with her. Well, her face to his chin, since Benjy was such a giant. Not in the literal sense though, of course.

"What is it?" Doe growled irritably in his general direction. Usually she was much more friendly, but honestly, she just wasn't in the mood to deal with whatever he had to say. Doubtless it would have to do with Mia. Now that Doe and Benjy couldn't even be considered friends any longer, however, Dorcas didn't have to put up with him going on about Amelia's whims.

"Hey, calm down," he replied smoothly, holding his hands up in front of him as if showing her that he came in peace. Upon observing him up close for the first time in almost a year, Dorcas noticed that his hair was longer - more in his face. Also, he had grown what was probably another two or three inches, effectively towering over her five foot seven inch body.

Pursing her lips with unease and annoyance, Doe simply stared up at him. When she replied, her voice was level, but dangerous. "I've been calm for almost a _year_. I'm sorry if I don't feel like acting mature about this anymore; I've reached my limit, in a sense."

He exhaled a sharp breath, looking down his nose at the girl in front of him - hardly a girl anymore, really. She was a woman now. She'd filled out a bit more in a year's time, he noted slyly. The largest difference though, was the look in her eyes. It almost made him wince, how hard they looked, serious. Somehow, he knew that it wasn't the war that had put that look there - that was his fault, and she didn't look at anyone else like that except for him. Nope, _that_ look was reserved just for him. "Look, Doe. I'm really so-."

She cut him off easily. "Save it, Benjy. I'm not mad at you," she said, though the clenching of her jaw showed him otherwise.

Suddenly, he materialized a bar of chocolate from the jean pockets of his weekend Muggle attire. How was she supposed to respond to that? Merlin's beard, for a Hufflepuff he hardly played fair. He knew what her one true weakness was; the one thing that she could never turn down no matter what. "I was going to say that I'm sorry that I ran you off with my many git-like qualities. And I'm also sorry that I've been too much of a wimp to come up to you before this. You know how good I am at disappearing." He half-smiled, slipping to chocolate bar into her hand.

For that, she had no snappy response. He seemed so earnest and Merlin, he probably wasn't lying. That boy couldn't be mean to save his life; purposely, at least. So Doe knew, in that sense, that he wasn't playing a game with her; coming up to her like this. If he was making some sort of gesture, he truly meant it. Which was why she had no idea how to respond other than with, "Oh."

Truly though, she just needed to know what this meant. If they were friends again, or something more. What did he want from her? Because although he was probably innocent in his meaning, most of the time Benjy was oblivious when it came to feelings.

"A -are we uhm... Are we, er, all good then?" He looked at her, his nervousness obvious in the stutter of his speech and the flush of his cheeks.

"I... What does that mean? Are we all good about what, Benj? What are you suggesting? That we be friends again?" Doe muttered, more to herself than to the man in front of her, though she knew that he would hear her nonetheless.

"Actually, I was hoping, uhm...," at this point his face and neck were about as red as a tomato. "I was hoping, well... We never had that first kiss that we talked about, did we?"

That was all Doe needed to hear; all she had ever really wanted from him. It was all the she required to make her eternally happy. It was simple really, she thought as she rose on his tiptoes to bring their lips together for the first time - all that Dorcas Meadowes needed was Benjamin Fenwick.

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><p><em>(AN: Hopefully it wasn't too bad, as this was the first attempt at fanfiction that I've ever written! I hope at least some of you enjoyed it! Sorry about the slightly odd pairing first time around, by the way - I'll try to work on some more mainstream couples, if you'd like?)_


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